Podcasting from Pro Tour–Berlin

Rich HagonFriday, October 31, 2008

et Richard Hagon be your guide through Pro Tour–Berlin, the third Pro Tour of the 2008 season. If you're not a regular reader of event coverage, this is a great starting place to learn the top players and storylines that have shaped this season. With exclusive player interviews, analysis of deckbuilding strategies, explanations of formats and the PT season, and much more, it's a cornucopia of information.

PRO TOUR–BERLIN IN REVIEW

You can listen to each segment in the player to the right, or you can click on the link to listen to the file in your browser or right-click Save As to download to your computer. If you have iTunes installed on your computer, click here and you'll be directed to the Magic: The Gathering podcast in the iTunes directory.

It'll be a long time before Magic players forget the outcome of Pro Tour–Berlin. From the avalanche of ELVES! decks to Luis Scott-Vargas's amazing run through the Top 8 where he won six elimination games in a row in the quarterfinals and semifinals, the season's third Pro Tour set up a fascinating Extended storyline to follow for the next few weeks as we hurtle toward the 2008 World Championships. Included in this podcast is 20-minute interview with Scott-Vargas recorded immediately after the event.

It's Extended, it's massive, and it's looking pretty cool here in Berlin, with many players making the effort to turn up to the event thoroughly suited and booted. The fruits of their sartorial labours can be seen later today, but for now sharp suits have to play second fiddle to sharp minds. Those minds won't have time to hang about either, since this Extended format promises to be very, very fast. Indeed. Tune in and here a world of Pros talking our favorite language – Magic.

Having blogged his way around the building, Rich gets the mic back in his hand to report the goings-on at four top tables as we head for crunch time here in Day One. Featuring Luis Scott-Vargas, Charles Gindy, Rich Hoaen, Masahiko Morita and a talented supporting cast of opponents, get up close to the action as it happens, minute by minute. Round Seven at the top, courtesy of magicthegathering.com.

In our first audio show of Day 2, we go inside Round 12 at the top tables. Whichever six come out ahead will be in a great position to get a chair at the Sunday Showdown. If you were still in any doubt about the breakout deck of the tournament, every single one of our six featured games has Elves on one side of the board. That's a ton of little green men and forests, lording it over the princely Extended format. Great matches, great interviews, and a guest spot by Hall of Famer and R&D member Mike Turian make this the perfect audio accompaniment to your Pro Tour Saturday.

Magic has an endless capacity to generate excitement, whether that's at home, with friends, at Friday Night Magic or all the way here to the Pro Tour. In this final audio show of Pro Tour–Berlin, we bring you all the drama of the final two rounds of Swiss action. Incredible matchups, and an ever-changing Top 8 picture take you right to the wire. And whether you're wired or wireless, make sure to join us for all the action on Super Sunday.

You can also access previous studio podcasts by visiting the Podcast Archive.

WHAT IS PODCASTING?

Podcasting is delivering audio and video content on demand so that it can be enjoyed at the user's convenience. The main benefit of podcasting is that listeners can sync content to their media player and take it with them to listen whenever they want to. But they're not just for iPods…the files are ready to watch or listen to on just about any computer.

To subscribe to the Magic: The Gathering podcast:

If you already have iTunes on your computer, click here and you'll be directed to the Magic: The Gathering podcast in the iTunes directory. Click on the subscribe button there and you're all set.

When prompted for a URL, enter http://www.wizards.com/magic/rsspodcast.xml and click OK.

Once you subscribe to the podcast, iTunes will automatically check for new files and download them to your computer. To ensure that you get timely updates, set your Podcast Settings to check for new episodes every hour (the Settings button is in the lower-right corner of the iTunes window, or you can find it under Edit --> Preferences --> Podcast).